Saxophonist Jacobs founded and continues to run Peterborough Jazz club, now in its 22nd year, and is, incidentally, a local GP. It was his idea to capture this live gig at the Ship Inn in Oundle, in which he was reunited with Pearce, a regular guest, the frontliners supported by a stellar trio. Jacobs, who hews roughly to the early Rollins-cum-Gordon template, is a vigorous soloist and combines well with Pearce's sometimesfragile Milesian stance. But it's the playing of the rhythm section that marks this is out as something more than a chance get-together, with Critchinson in especially ebullient form over Barry's clattery drums and Somogyi's resonant bass. Dameron's ‘Lady Bird’ opens, ahead of ‘Stella by Starlight’, Pearce and the pianist in duo before Barry slides in, the trumpeter finding interesting entry points to the harmonies and thinking up some intriguing riffs and figures. If Miles is lurking, there also a hint of Don Cherry in the slightly off-centre approach. Here again, Critchinson scores, his extemporisation soundly built on a good foundation, Jacobs picking up the intensity in his own multichorus run, his figures circling the harmonies and sometimes overplaying the decorative curlicues. Mobley's ‘This I Dig of You’ always works for me and happily, for them too. Decent hard-bop with a number of too-often overlooked players giving their all. Worth investigating.